Euonymus alatus Plant Named ‘Odom’

ABSTRACT

A burning bush named ‘ODOM’ having a short dense habit and slow growth rate.

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Euonymusalatus, burning bush, which has been given the varietal name ‘ODOM.’

I discovered the original plant of my new variety growing in a ball holefrom which a burning bush had been previously removed. My new variety isbelieved to be either a seedling sport or a root sport. The originalplant was discovered growing outdoors in a cultivated area in the cornerof a nursery block in McMinnville, Tenn. My attention was drawn to theplant because of its slow growth and compact, diminutive size. My newvariety is particularly useful in landscape settings where small,slowing growing bushes are desired.

‘ODOM’ is an attractive plant that exhibits a slow rate of growthcompared to other varieties of burning bush, particularly when grownunder nursery and container conditions. Three-year-old ‘ODOM’ plantshave only grown to a height of 10″ to 12″ in containers and new bedswhile maintaining dense branches and leaves. When the original plant ofmy variety was 12 years old, it was only 30″ high and 4′ wide. Thegrowth habit is dense and of a desirable rotund and slightly flattenedshape. The dense habit is due primarily to densely spaced nodes andleaves and also to many multiple breaks from new growth shoots from eachseason. Insofar as I have observed as of this time, leaves are typicallysmaller than other burning bush varieties but have the same color andshape as the species. The leaves also tend to hold longer into the fallseason when compared to other varieties of burning bush plants I haveobserved growing in the McMinnville, Tenn. area. Flowers and fruits ofmy new variety, insofar as I have observed as of this time, are the sameas other varieties which I have observed.

The morphological characteristics of the variety ‘ODOM’ described aboveserve to distinguish ‘ODOM’ from other varieties of burning bush plantsof which I am aware. For example, other known varieties of burning bushgrowing in McMinnville, Tenn., typically reach 10′ to 12′ in heightwhich limits their utility as a foundation landscape plant unless theyare heavily pruned.

The new variety ‘ODOM’ has been asexually reproduced at my directionfrom cuttings in McMinnville, Tenn., and observation of the resultingplants that have been grown in a nursery in McMinnville, Tenn., hasproven that the characteristics of my new variety are stable.Furthermore, these observations have confirmed that my new varietypresents a new and improved compact growing variety of burning bushplant.

More specifically, my new variety has been asexually reproduced duringJune through October from 4 to 6 inch long wood cuttings that aretreated using a quick dip of 1000-3000 ppm indole 3 butyric acid,napthalene acetic acid. Cuttings have been propagated in a 50% peat/50%perlite mix and straight sand with near 100% success. Typically rootingoccurs in 4-12 weeks. All plants of my variety which have been asexuallypropogated have maintained the characteristic compact, diminutive sizeand slow growth exhibited by the original plant. Thus, my new variety isstable.

In summary, the new variety ‘ODOM’ is distinguishable from all othervarieties of burning bush of which I am aware because it displays acombination of unique characteristics. These characteristics have beenstably expressed through several generations of cuttings and, moreover,these characteristics render the plant useful for planting in variouslandscapes. The following combination of characteristics distinguish the‘ODOM’ variety: 1) low growth; 2) dense compact habit; 3) new growth inMcMinnville, Tenn., seldom exceeding 6″ per season; and 4) leaves thathold longer in the fall than typical of the species observed to date.

The following is a detailed description of the invention based on plantsgrown in a nursery in McMinnville, Tenn. Color descriptions and otherterminology are used herein in accordance with ordinary dictionarysignificance unless otherwise noted with reference to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart (R.H.S.) It should be noted thatcolor does vary with time of year, lighting conditions, and soil andnutrient conditions. For example, leaf colors tend to be brighter greenif the plants are grown in soil with greater nitrogen concentrations,and to be more yellow when grown in soil containing lesser amounts ofnitrogen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying photographs depict the size, color, and branchingstructure of my new variety ‘ODOM’.

FIG. 1 is a photograph of the original ‘ODOM’ plant, depicting itsgrowth and habit.

FIG. 2 is a photograph comparing one year's growth from the ‘Compacta’variety of burning bush (A)(unpatented), which exhibits typical growth,to one year's growth from the ‘ODOM’ variety (B).

FIG. 3 is a photograph of 2-year-old ‘ODOM’ plants in containers.

THE PLANT

The following is a description of plants of the new variety growing inMcMinnville, Tenn.

Parentage: Unknown. Believed to be either a root sport or a seedlingsport.

Propogation: Holds to distinguishing characteristics through succeedingasexual propagation by cuttings.

Bush:

Bush shape.—Rotund and slightly flattened.

Bush size.—Mature size unknown. Original plant at 12 years old was 30″high and 4′ wide.

Bush growth.—One or more suckers often grow from at or about groundlevel and enhances the apparent density of the plant.

Branches:

Branching pattern.—Dense with an internode length ranging from 1″ to 6″.

New branches (stems).—Green (RHS 137A) in color, measuring {fraction(1/16)}″ to ¼″ in diameter; glabrous; primary new growth branches oftenhave cork textured protuberances which can be about as long as the newgrowth branches.

Mature (Three-year old) branches (stems).—Grey-green (RHS 197A) incolor; corky and rough.

Leaves:

Leaf size.—About 1″ to 2″ long and ½″ to ¾″ wide.

Upper surface.—Yellow-green (RHS 147A), changing to red (RHS 46A) in thefall; glabrous.

Lower surface.—Yellow-green (RHS 146A); glabrous.

Arrangement.—Opposite to subopposite.

Margin.—Finely serrate.

Shape.—Elliptic to slightly obovate.

Petiole.—About ⅛″ long and yellow-green (RHS 144B) in color.

Apex.—Acute.

Base.—Acute.

Flowers: About {fraction (3/16)}″ long and {fraction (3/16)}″ wide; notornamental or showy; perfect, with four rounded petals that areyellow-green (RHS 153D) in color and four short stamens about {fraction(1/16)} long with yellow-orange (RHS 14A) anthers attached to a broad,flat, yellow-green (RHS 153C) disk; flowers mature in May to June.

Disease resistance.—Twig blight observed in very wet conditions.

Insect resistance.—Scale has been observed on a few plants, but no majorpest infestations have been observed.

Hardiness.—Full range unknown, observed primarily in hardiness Zone 6.Expected to be at least as hardy as the species, hardiness Zones 4-8 andpossibly 9.

Seeds.—About ¼″ to ⅓″ long; covered with an oranged-red (RHS 33A) aril.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of burning bush plantsubstantially as herein shown and described, characterized particularlyas to novelty by its slow growth rate and unique, dense habit.